Capitan, New Mexico

In early May 1950 a massive forest fire spread through the Capitan Gap in the Capitan Mountains. A young black bear cub was found clinging to a tree with his paws singed and his mother nowhere in sight. That cub, later named Smokey Bear, was doctored and eventually sent to Washington, D. C. where he became the living symbol of fire prevention. Without a doubt, Smokey Bear is the most famous resident of Capitan, NM, but he is not the sole history of the area. In addition to a comprehensive chapte